Display device



1932- w. H. STAYTON, sR ,7 3

DISPLAY DEVICE Fild May 2, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 6, 1932, w. H. STAYTON, SR

DISPLAY DEVICE Filed May 2, 1929 2 Shets-Sheet 2 I fizz/6775f: v

Patented Dec. 6, 1932 UNITED ST WILLIAM H.-STAYTON, SR., OF SMYRNA, DELAWARE DISPLAY DEVICE Application filed May 2, 1929. Serial No. 359,799

This invention relates to displays of the character that are employed in advertising and the like and is disclosed herein as embodied in a display. provided with means for .5 imparting a semblance of motion to the entire display or to selected parts thereof, as may be desired.

It is a matter of common knowledge that manyv advertising displays include in their 1o general organizations pictorial representations of movable bodies, such,'for example, as the well-known camel in cigarette advertisements, and heretofore when it has been desirable to depict the body in motion, it has been customary to provide several outlines of the legs of the animal in different positions and to illuminate the outlines in succession to simulate walking. The matter of installing, maintaining and operating a sign of this character is one of considerable expense owing in part to the, mechanism required in transmitting current to the different lines in the display, andfurthermore, such displays are of little or no value in the daytime owing to the fact that the various outlines of the legs are not clearly seen, and the illumination of one-outline blots out the others.

In view of the foregoing desideratum it 'is an important object of the present invention v to provide a display of the character described so constructed and arranged that the appearance of movement may be imparted to the indicia of the display without any actual movement being imparted thereto and without theaid of electric lights or the like. In another aspect, an important object of the invention consists in combining with an indicia bearing display-separate and independent means for imparting a semblance of motion to the indicia carried by the display.

Thus, the invention contemplates the employment of independent means in connection with an ordinary sign-board, or the like, to

impart apparent motion to an ordinary display mounted on the sign-board;

V ordinary broader application.

T OFFICE: 1

An important feature of the invention WlllCll s conducive to the accomplishment of the recited object consists in providing adisto give the semblance of motion, and to the prLsms or other members in such-a play device with prisms, or with suitable disy zortlon members, at polnts where itis desired move 7 manner that the indlcia beneath them will appear I to move in the desired fashion. For example,

in the camel displayonentioned above, it Will be possible by means of my invention to place prisms in front of the legs of the animal, and, as movement is imparted tothe pr sms the visible effect will be that of the legs moving beneath the prisms. a prism or transparent Similarly, distorter may be superimposed over the body of the animal and moved in such a manner as to give to the latter a resemblance of shufliing motion.

In a somewhat different aspect, an important feature of prisms in connection with. displays mg to impart a fanciful appearance to of the invention resides in the use that ordinarilyhave no movement the purpose of applying the invention in this connection besuch a display in order to'attract the eye ofa per- SOD.

It is to be observed at this point that, al-

though the foregoing statement of inve nti on is apparently somewhat limited in its application to advertising displays and the like, the

be incorporated in the wares and merchandise,

invention distinctly contemplates a much Thus the invention may exhibition of goods, in educational displays, amusement displays, such as toys,

games, andthe like, and it is to be u nderstood that the invention resides not in the partlcular device or devlces in connection with which it is employed but rather does it reside in combining prisms and/or dis torters with displays to impart to ,the' immovable parts or indicia of the latter a semblance of motion, or an apparent chan shape or appearance. I

ge of til Other features of the invention consist in the association with the prisms and distorters, of means for protecting them during outdoor exposure, and of means for cleaning the members from time to time to prevent the impairment of the transparency of such mem bers.

Still further objects and features of the invention will become apparent from a reading of the following specification in the light of the accompanying drawings in which are shown several applications of the invention. Turning now to the drawings:

Figure 1 shows in front elevation a signboard equipped in accordance with the pres ent invention;

Figure 2 is a view in side elevation. of the board shown in Figure 1;

Figures 3 and 1 are views in perspective of aprism and a distorter, respectively, which may be conveniently employed in carrying out the invention; 7

Figure 5 is view in front elevation of a sign-board showing a somewhat difi erent application of the invention;

Figures 6 and 7 show the application of the invention to displays of the illuminating va y;

links 19, as shown in Figure 16, to guide the movement of the Figures 8 and 9 illustratethe use of the invention in connection with displays having no movable parts;

Figures 10 and 11 show the invention provided with means for preventing the accumulation of dust and dirt on the face of the prism or ,distorter; I

Figure 12 shows a prism or distorter equipped with cleaning means;

Figure 13 illustrates the use of the invention in connection with indirect displays;

Figures ll and 15 illustrate a still further modified application of the invention; and

Figure 16 shows the manner of connecting the prism members of Figure 1 with the operating mechanism shown 1111 Figure, 2.

As shown in the drawings, the reference numeral 10 indicates a vertical sign-board upon the front of which appears a picture of a camel. Superimposed over the body of the camel is a prism or distorter 12 of the same general design as that illustrated in Figure 3 or Figure 1, and supe imposed above the legs of the camel are a plurality of additional prisms 14 and 16 pivoted at their top extremitiesto the front of the board. As shown in Figure 2 the upper prism or distort-er 12is mounted upon bracket arms 18 that extend through openings 21 formed in the signboard and are carried by a stud 2O ccce ntrically mounted on a rotary member bracket arms 18 are additionally supported upon the back of the sign board by pivoted which serve supporting bracket arms and the distort-er 12 and main The tain the lower edge of the distorter parallel to the bottom of the sign. A motor 2% imparts movement to the rotary member 22, which causes the upper prism or distorter 12 tobe moved in such a manner that points on the prismmove in circles. Furthermore, the motor 24;, by means of an eccentric 26, reciprocates a plurality of rods 28 that re connected with the prisms 14 and 16 and cause the lower portions of the latter to move to ward and away from the board about their horizontal axes of pivot.

Now,it is a matter of common knowledge that when an image is viewed through a prism it appears to be located at a point removedfrom its true position in the direction of the thin edge of the prism. Furthermore, movement imparted to the prism results in the semblance of motion being imparted to the image. Thus, such principles r sult in a seemingly natural being imparted to the camel owing to the location and movement of the smatic members. 7

The foregoing principles have been employed inconnection with the display shown in Figure 5 by superimpos' lg upon the end invention to displays that have no moving parts. 7 As shown in Figure 8, for example, the sign-board 10, which is located at the side of a road, has a prism 1 o superimposed upon the display and as automobiles or other v vehicles drive along the road relative movement will take place between the vehicles, the display 10, and the prism 12a, with the result that the desired distortion, or apparent motion, will take place without the provision of moving parts. Similarly, a'sshown in Figure 9, the prismand display being mounted upon a moving object, a person standing off from the display and viewing it as the latter passes will have presented to him the same semblance of motion that generally obtained by me ans of the movable members.

Figures 6 and 7 indicate the signs in use today inwhich a number of conamanner as to give the impression of flame travelingin a circle. The installation and maintenance of such a sign and the complex mechanism for opera o it are items of great cost and'it has been found that through the provision of the present invention the same efl'ect may be secured in a' much more conv I L I I application of the invention LO illuminated signs. lhere are asserts venient and economical way. Thus, asshown in Figure 7, a light 30 may be fixedly mounted and a prism 32 may be disposed in front of the light and there rotated, as mdicated by the dotted line position.

With such an arrangement, one viewing the prism 32 during its rotation will see the projected image of the lamp-contmuously moving in a defined circle and if the prism is moved fast enough or if more than one prlsm is provided, the appearance will be that of a brilliant flame traveling in a circle. A very interesting modification of the arrangement protrayed in Figure 6, 1n.

just described is which a number of prisms 38 are mounted on arms 40, 42 that intersect one another at right angles, in such a manner that, as indicated by the direction arrows, the thin edges of the prisms on each arm point in different directions. Thus, projected upon the prisms movement imparted to the arms gives the appearance of the images moving away from one another in different directions and if the arms are moved at a reasonably high rate of speed,a curious and fanciful appearance results, which may be even further enhanced by making the prism of diflerent colors.

Turning now to Figure 13, there is illus trated a scheme of carrying out the invention which also is desirable. prism 14 is mounted to move about an axis 46 and to impart indirectly, through a mirror 48, movement to an image 50. Thus, if one views the display from the point 52 he will not only see the image indirectly, but will also see the image apparently moving away from a fixed position and then being restored to it. Let it be pointed out however that motion might be imparted to the mirror and the prism held st tionary to produce the same result.

It is to be appreciated that the present invention will be used out of doors a great deal and it is accordingly contemplated provid-' mg the display with means for protecting it during adverse weather conditions. As shown in Figure 10, a sheet of glass 54 is mounted in front of the display within a tightly fitting frame 56, and, as shown in Figure 11, a shield or shade 58 is located above the display to protect it. To the end of cleaning the display when once it becomes soiled by an accumulation of dust or dirt, on"

the face of the prism or distorter vided a hollow tube 60 having 62 in its lower surface through which water may flow downwardly across the face of the display.

Turning now to an examination of Figures. 14 and 15, there is picturized in the first of these figures a persons eye 64, an image 66, and a prism 68, all in line with one another.

there is properforations Now owing to the peculiarities of the prism,

with the images As there shown a theimage '66, which is actually located n direct line with the prism and the eye, Wlll "apparently be located to the observer at the point indicated by the reference numeral 66'. Then, if the prism is moved in the directlon .of the eye of the observer the image continues to move in a direction at right angles to that line and assumes successively the positions indicated by the reference numerals 70 and 70'. This feature may be applied to a sign in themanner indicated in Figure 15 wherein parently located at the points indicated by the reference numerals 74, and then, if the prisms are movedoutwardly toward the observer in a direction at right angles to the face of the board, the images of the lights 74 p I p to assume successively the positions indicated by the reference nu- Thus, by means of such an arrangement, a flashing sign may be produced n which radial streaks of illumination are obtained by means prisms 76 toward and away from the face of the sign-board 72.

Although the invention has been discussed herein with particular reference to prisms, 1t 13 to be understood that the invention contemplates not only the use of prisms, but also distorters, such, for example, as that shown in Figure 4, and likewise any others that are suitable in answering the purposes outlined in the foregoing paragraphs of this discussion- Such a prism might take the form of a transparent shell containing a suitable fluid.

Furthermore, it is to be appreciated that the invention may be embodied 1n innumera-' ble modifications in addition to those illustrated and described herein, and may be used to other analogous ends, as, for example, by employing the prism, or distorter, to magnify motion as'contrasted with producing it, andthat such modifications and further adaptions are contemplated by the invention,the

real scope of which is set forth inthe append ed claims. v a

Having'thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An indicia bearing display having in combination therewith,'a plurality of prisms superimposed upon different parts of the display together with means for imparting moof reciprocating the tion to the various prisms to cause a sem- T blance of motion to be imparted to the several parts of the indicia.

"2. 'In an assembly ofv the character described, the combination with a member having display matter thereon, of transparent prisms for retracting rays proceeding from predetermined portions only of said matter, and means for causing regularly recurring relative movements between said member and prisms, such as will give an appearance of animation to the display matter.

8. The method of causing display matter to take on appearance of animation which consists, in retracting the rays from predetermined portions only of the display matter, and imparting to said refracted rays motion relative to the rays from the rest of the display in regularly recurringcycles.

4. In an assembly of the character described, the combination with a display, of a'transparent member having smooth, oppositely disposed faces, angularly related with respect to each other,'interp'osed between the display and the pointof observation. of the display, said member being arranged to receive a projected image of the display, together with means for imparting motion to the transparent member to cause a semblance ofmotion to be imparted to the display. 9

' 5. In'an assembly of the character described, the combination with a display, of

a transparent member having smooth, op-

positely disposed faces, angularly related with respect to each other, interposed between the display and the point of observation of the display, said member being arranged to receive a projected image of the I display, together with means for imparting 'terposed between the display and the point of observation thereof, said member being arrangedto receive a projected image of the display, together with means for moving the transparent member in a direction substantially perpendicular to the display to cause a semblance of motion to be imparted to the latter.

Signed at Chicago, Illinois, this th day of April, 1929. WVILLIAM H. STAYTON, SR.

relative motion between the transparent member and the display to cause a semblance of motion to be imparted to the latter.

6. In an assembly of the character described, the combination With a display of a single prismatic member interposed between the display and the point of observation of the display, said member being arranged to receive a projected image of the display, together with means for imparting relative motion between the transparent member and the display to cause a semblance V of motion to be imparted to the latter.

7. In an assembly 8. In an assembly of the .character' de-- scribed, the combination with a display ofa single transparent prismatic member inof the character described, the combination of a substantially the direction of such 

